Beyond Coding: How Children Learn Human Values through Programming
- Length: 232 pages
- Edition: 1
- Language: English
- Publisher: The MIT Press
- Publication Date: 2022-03-22
- ISBN-10: 026254332X
- ISBN-13: 9780262543323
- Sales Rank: #85988 (See Top 100 Books)
Why children should be taught coding not as a technical skill but as a new literacy—a way to express themselves and engage with the world.
Today, schools are introducing STEM education and robotics to children in ever-lower grades. In Beyond Coding, Marina Umaschi Bers lays out a pedagogical roadmap for teaching code that encompasses the cultivation of character along with technical knowledge and skills. Presenting code as a universal language, she shows how children discover new ways of thinking, relating, and behaving through creative coding activities. Today’s children will undoubtedly have the technical knowledge to change the world. But cultivating strength of character, socioeconomic maturity, and a moral compass alongside that knowledge, says Bers, is crucial.
Bers, a leading proponent of teaching computational thinking and coding as early as preschool and kindergarten, presents examples of children and teachers using the Scratch Jr. and Kibo robotics platforms to make explicit some of the positive values implicit in the process of learning computer science. If we are to do right by our children, our approach to coding must incorporate the elements of a moral education: the use of narrative to explore identity and values, the development of logical thinking to think critically and solve technical and ethical problems, and experiences in the community to enable personal relationships. Through learning the language of programming, says Bers, it is possible for diverse cultural and religious groups to find points of connection, put assumptions and stereotypes behind them, and work together toward a common goal.
Cover Contents Acknowledgments Preface 1 Coding, Robotics, and Values Foundations: A Coding Playground Languages for Children Starting Early 12 A Window into Their World: Mouths Cannot Read Bar Codes 2 The Coding Wars The Two Sides: A Simplified Story The Role of the Teacher The Role of the Student The Role of Education The Role of Coding A Window into Their World: Robotics Guarding Nature 3 The Rise of STEM The Work Pipelines Global Experience Computer Science and Computational Thinking The Problem with STEM A Window into Their World: Programming a Map, Building a Language 4 Coding as Another Language Transitioning Languages Meaningful Sequences Doing Things with Language A Window into Their World: Georgia, Elena, and the Old Lady 5 From Theory to Practice Powerful Ideas A Teacher’s Perspective Coding Stages A Window into Their World: The Missing Audience 6 Coding Character The Narrative Approach: Moral Identities The Reasoning Approach: Moral Thought The Experiential Approach: A Moral Life The Values in Coding as Another Language A Window into Their World: The Best Use of Her Time 7 The Palette of Virtues The Coding Playground The Ten Virtues Coding a Mensch A Window into Their World: The Learning Family 8 Coding Bridges The Hidden Curriculum My Four Powerful Ideas: A Summary A Window into Their World: A Diversity of Approaches Further Readings Resources
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